New ‘scalping’ laws, making it illegal to re-sell tickets to popular events for huge mark-ups have been declared a success by Consumer Protection.
Commissioner for Consumer Protection, Gary Newcombe said the new laws restricted the resale of tickets to a maximum 10 per cent mark-up from the original price.
“Also outlawed is the use of software known as ‘bots’ that bypass security measures to make bulk ticket purchases,” Mr Newcombe said.
“Aside from putting restrictions on price gouging by ticket scalpers, re-sellers will also be required to identify the location of the seat or viewing spot for each ticket,” he said.
“It is now Consumer Protection’s role to enforce the new measures and as Commissioner I have sent notices to seven online re-sellers advising them of the new laws and heavy penalties they could face for failing to comply.”
Mr Newcombe said fines ranging from $20,000 for individuals to $100,000 for companies awaited those who broke the law, and even higher penalties applied for people who used ‘bots’ to purchase tickets.
He said Consumer Protection officers attended last weekend’s AFL Grand Final at Optus Stadium, assisting consumers who turned up with fake tickets purchased online and were therefore denied entry.
“There were five individuals or groups with a total of 12 fake tickets and $6,600 in losses. All were either purchased on Gumtree or eBay,” the Commissioner said.
“A total of 50 advertisements offering tickets in breach of the new laws have been removed.”
Mr Newcombe said that while the new laws went a long way towards ensuring fairer ticket prices in the resale market, his best advice for consumers was to buy tickets only from authorised sellers to protect their refund rights if the event was postponed or cancelled.
